The gloves are coming off

David Staples over at The Cult of Hockey just threw down with Adrian Dater, bashing the Avalanche along the way.

AD twitted - from a sick bed, not from the press box - the following:
"Can't win 'em all at home. A shame the Avs had to finally lose to a dog team like Edmonton at home, though."

To say Edmonton is a dog team is a little harsh. The Avalanche didn't play horrible but they were certainly beat by the better team last night. If they lost to Minnesota, then yes that would be losing to a dog team. But nonetheless, Staples took offense as if Dater had fired a "Yo momma" shot across the bow.

Amidst a flury of knocks against the Avs and their fans, he decided to take a shot at the city itself:
"Denver is a great city. It's America's version of Calgary."

A guy from Edmonton knocking on Calgary? Seriously?

Thanks to Kukla as usual for digging this stuff up.

Avalanche Streaking Again, Down Oilers 3-2 in Shootout

(Associated Press)

When I woke up this morning I had a great opening line for this recap. Unfortunately I promptly fell back asleep and forgot it. Something about wanting to be called Ishmael while a man in black fled across a desert.

Anyhoo...last night the Avalanche grabbed their fourth of six possible points on their current road trip - and third win in a row - with their 3-2 shootout victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Heading into the third period, the Avalanche were down 2-1 and didn't appear poised to score the tying goal any time soon.

But then the rarest of rarities happened. The Oilers took two penalties leading to a 6-on-3 advantage for the Avalanche with just 25 seconds left.

It started when Fernando Pisani got called for hooking at 18:01. The Avalanche pulled Peter Budaj for the 6-on-4 advantage but couldn't get anything together.

Then Marek Svatos decided to take matters into his own hands and stickhandled past half a dozen Oilers and their moms leading to an Ethan Moreau tripping penalty.

So in a smart - if not obvious - move, Granato sent out Smyth and Tucker to stand in front of the net and annoy Roloson. Roloson was frustrated and distracted by Smyth all game long so why not toss an extra body in front of him and see if he snaps.

It worked superbly as Jordan Leopold fired a shot from the point and while Roloson was hacking, slashing and punching at the pesty pair, Tucker managed to get a stick on it and tip it past Roloson.

Roloson quickly went screaming over to the refs to protest the undoubtedly legal goal. Smyth and Tucker stayed out of the crease, the tip in happened well below the goal line and nobody had touched Roloson.

Seriously Dwayne, grow some stones and quit whining to the refs whenever opponents get within a meter of you. And don't think we didn't notice your dive when Smyth breathed on in the third period. We noticed and we loved it.

That tied the game with 11 seconds to go and as OT solved nothing, it was off to the shootout.

Wojtek Wolski and Sam Gagner both scored to start things off but the next six shooters couldn't get anything past the keepers.

Then Darcy Tucker stepped on the ice. And I said "WTF?" Then Tucker scored. And I said "WTF?" Then Budaj stopped Horcoff. And I said "Yippee!"

The Avalanche now head into Calgary to complete their trip. The Flames got spanked 6-1 by the Sharks on Thursday and don't play again until Tuesday. I think it's safe to say that they will come out pretty fired up. Of course you never know what Iron Mike has up his sleeve.

Notes
Peter Budaj stood tall in net once again. He has allowed just three goals in his last three games. Coincidentally, those all equated to wins. He is on his way to proving what many believed all along - he has the technology. He can play bigger, stronger, faster.

Liam Reddox drew in tonight as Dustin Penner and Kyle Brodziak were in street clothes. And in true Avalanche fashion, he scored the first goal of his NHL career. Is somebody willing to look up how many players scored their first career goal against the Avs? Because offhand...it feels like a lot.

Ryan Smyth got his first goal against his former team as he drove the net hard and banged in a rebound. Remember kids, it's never a bad idea to go hard to the net. And it's always fun to score against your former team no matter what anybody says.

Darcy Tucker is getting back into everyone's good books as he scored the game tying goal as well as the winner in the shootout.

Joe Sakic sat out for the second straight game. The Avalanche are hopeful he will join the team in Calgary. But don't worry, they were hopeful he would join the team in Edmonton too.

Brett Clark was the ice-time leader with 24 minutes last night. He shouldn't be playing that many minutes as it became evident late in the game that he was gassing and making poor plays.

Late in the third, he was circling behind the net being chased by an Oiler when another Oiler started coming at him from the other direction. Rather than dump the puck past the oncoming Oiler, he tried to cut out in front of Budaj which was nearly disastrous. Mostly because my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.

David Jones spent a grand total of 6:41 on the ice tonight, most of that in the first and second periods. What happened to the dynamo from the preseason? If he doesn't wake up soon, he'll be heading back to Lake Erie to hopefully regain some confidence. He's got none at the moment.

Milan Hejduk took the draw to start off the 6-on-3 advantage and won it handily. Paul Stastny was on the ice but had only won 8 of his 20 draws while Hejduk was a perfect 3-for-3 leading up to that crucial draw.

Ian Laperriere, Cody Mcleod, Cody McCormick, Zach Stortini, Jesse Boulerice...and no fights? Bizarre.

Game highlights


Post-game Comments


Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
In the Cheap Seats Recap
Rocky Mountain News Recap
Denver Post Recap
Budaj, Avalanche stun Oilers in SO
Avalanche defeat Oilers in shootout

Avalanche @ Oilers, Game 16 Preview

It feels like a decade since the Avalanche last played hockey. Of course that could be because I was stuck in my house battling a cold for the last couple days. Days really drag out when you're being forced to choose between Oprah or Dr. Phil on TV. Thank goodness I have a lot of books that need reading including Winning. Nothing Else.

But I get a reprieve from the reading tonight as tthe Avalanche are in Edmonton to take on another underachieving team in the Edmonton Oilers.

Craig Mactavish is frustrated enough with his team that he's sitting Dustin Penner and Kyle Brodziak in favor of Liam Reddox (who?) and Jesse Boulerice. Penner's contract is working out well, eh?

For the Avalanche, Joe Sakic is still in Denver trying to fix his ailing back which means Tyler Arnason will again get a chance to showcase his skills.

After being a healthy scratch against Nashville, he came roaring back in the Avs 2-1 win against Vancouver. And by "roaring back", I mean it appears he could not have cared less about the possibility of being benched again. Maybe he knows something about Sakic's back that we're not being told.

Peter Budaj will be in net for the Avalanche in his sixth straight start. His last two performances have been gold star outings and I'm expecting more of the same tonight.

It is the first of two appearances on HNIC for the Avs. Game time is 10:00 ET, 8:00 MT which means a late 9:00 start for myself. Why oh why must we not change times with the rest of the world?

Related Links
Budaj helping Avs' in power shortage
Avalanche report: Goals anyone?

Oh how quickly they fall...

After rocketing out to a 4-0 start, the Edmonton Oilers have now dropped four straight games to fall to a 4-3-1 record.

And though the Avalanche are currently enjoying a 5-game win streak, it will end. Likely sooner than later.

And when it does, please remember to do the only rational thing. 

Panic.

Avalanche Keep Streak Alive; Crush Oilers 4-1

Recap

After dropping their first three games, the Colorado Avalanche have now won four straight games after a 4-1 win over a listless Edmonton Oilers club.

Although both teams came out with some energy, the Oilers appeared to settle into a groove while the Avalanche were settling back on their heels.

The Oil managed on more than one occasion to hem the Avs deep in their zone but it took them a lucky bounce on a second period powerplay to finally get on the board.

Adam Foote tried to clear a ricocheting puck out of the zone but the puck caught the heel of his stick and ended up being a perfect feather pass to Shawn Horcoff who slid it underneath a helpless Peter Budaj.

10 minutes later, the Avs teamed up with the linesman to answer back. As Ian Laperriere broke into the zone, the puck was knocked off his stick. However the linesman inadvertently - or so it seemed - held the puck in at the line while watching for an offside call. Ben Guite quickly grabbed the puck and fired it towards the net. It ended up bouncing to a net-crashing Lappy who slid it under Mathieu Garon.

What's the lesson there? Crash the net and good things happen. And every now and again, lucky bounces go your way. And sometimes the linesmen are on the take.

The Avalanche then deflated the Oilers with two quick goals to end the period.

Paul Stastny kept his seven game point streak alive with his second goal of the season. Marek Svatos tried to cut in, got off a weak backhand which ended up banking off Tom Gilbert right onto Paul Stastny's stick and he had a wide open net to bury it.

A minute and a half later, Cody Mcleod got his third of the season. Mcleod took a chip pass from Lappy, cut hard to the net, tried to shift the puck from backhand to forehand but ended up sliding the puck under a surprised Mathieu Garon. It was an odd goal and likely one that Garon would want back. Either way, the Avs took a 3-1 lead into the third period as the Oilers started breaking down.

The third period started off with a bang as Joe Sakic ended a play that he started. Sakic broke out of the zone and fired a cross-ice pass to Wojtek Wolski. Wolski then made a nice saucer pass up to Darcy Tucker as they crossed the blue line. Tucker then waited to draw the defense and flipped a saucer pass of his own to Joe Sakic who ripped a wrister past a sliding Garon. As flexible as Garon is, there was nothing he could do on that one. Short of installing Go-Go-Gadget Legs.

A bit of rough stuff broke out as Jason Strudwick tried to spark the Oilers with a fight against Cody McCormick. I'd give Strudwich the win but as he took an extra roughing penalty, it didn't build much momentum.

Shortly after that, Craig MacTavish showed some class and tossed out a line including Zach Stortini and Steve MacIntyre, their two heavyweights. Granato warned the refs as Stortini lined up with MacIntyre and sure enough, Stortini dropped them with the always obliging Laperriere. It was over quickly as the two hugged to the ice. Lappy then mocked Stortini, suggesting all Stortini wanted to do was hug and not fight. Pretty funny stuff. They both ended up with a 10-minute misconduct and were done for the night.

The fighting was not enough to spark the tired Oilers team and the Avalanche easily closed out the game to take their fourth win of the season.

Budaj settling in

Peter Budaj looked much more comfortable in goal tonight. He was much more confident moving side to side and was finding the puck all night long. 

Maybe the extra time on the bench helped calm him down and he's about to break out the Buddha we all know and love.

Know your role

There is still far too much confusion when the Avs are deep in their own zone. They need to figure this out quick, fast and in a hurry. You can see the hesitation in movement as defenders look to each other, unsure who is going to cover what area of the ice. There's no time for thinking when you're playing the game, that's what practice is for.

Don't think! Do!

Here a hook, there a hook

The referees tonight were hook happy calling nine straight hooking penalties until the rough stuff at the end of the game. Some of them were very weak calls and did nothing but interrupt the flow of the game.

Guite rocks the fu

Ben Guite was in the lineup after sitting for two straight games. And he was rocking the fu. He was also rocking the score sheet with 2 assists and a +2 rating in 10:53 of ice time. Chalk up a win for Jib on that one. 

Fantasy fun

Laperriere was gold tonight for my fantasy team. A goal, an assist, a +2 rating and 17 minutes in penalties. It doesn't get more productive than that.

Mats Sundin sighting

Mats Sundin was spotted tonight...doing a commercial for Pokerstars.net. Has he run out of money already? Or was he concerned that people weren't talking about him anymore? 

Related Links

ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap

ITCS Recap

NHL.com Event Summary

Avalanche report: Budaj catches fire

Colorado makes it four in a row

Putting the clamps on

Avalanche vs Oilers, Game 7 Preview

I'm running a bit behind today so the basics are this:

- Colorado is on the verge of a 4-game win streak
- Edmonton just had a 4-game win streak snapped by JQ and his Chicago Blackhawks
- Peter Budaj is in net
- AD is bored

I don't think the Avs will make it four straight tonight but I certainly won't be sad if they prove me wrong.

Game time is 9:30 ET, 7:30 MT at the Pepsi Center. The game is on TSN HD in the Great White North and Altitude HD for our Southern neighbours.

Oilers Defeat Avalanche 3-2 in Final Seconds

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jimmy Jeong)

What a disappointing ending to the Avalanche's second game of the season. After battling back twice to tie the game, the Oilers put the game away with a tip-in goal by Dustin Penner with 5.4 seconds left on the clock.

And just like that, the Avalanche are 0-2 on the season and the hand wringing has begun.

Budaj not winning over his critics

Peter Budaj played a solid game tonight and unfortunately it was all undone by a tip-in goal in the final seconds. Budaj had the save made but Penner was able to get a fiber of his stick on the puck and that was enough to let it slide through Budaj's five hole. Not much Budaj could really do there. 

The first goal was a great play by the Oilers on the PP and the second goal was a bit of a fluke goal that bounced off...someone. It was never really clear on the replay who it went off of - Hejduk I think - but Budaj lifted his pad for a second to readjust his position and the puck found its way through.

His stats are looking pretty bleak and I'm sure there are a lot of pundits patting themselves on the back right now for declaring the Avs goaltending duo as the worst in the league. 

But I still saw plenty of good in Budaj's performance tonight and as long as Granato keeps showing confidence in Budaj, things will get better. The last thing I want to see is Raycroft starting in net on Tuesday.

EDIT: From Pierre Lebrun on ESPN.com:

"unless Peter Budaj shows me something I haven't seen yet, I suspect the Avalanche will need their remaining cap room to acquire a goalie"

Two games - maybe even one depending on when he wrote the article - and Peter Budaj hasn't shown enough yet. Could that be because the season has barely begun? Remember Chris Mason's stellar start to last season? How'd that turn out?

Shots, posts and saves

The Avalanche got off 33 shots, hit 8 million posts and got stoned about a dozen times by Mathieu Garon. 

Shots are great and I'll never complain about somebody taking a shot. However you have to follow those shots up with some pressure. The Avalanche took a few shots from the perimeter and blueline which were pointless as there was no driving pressure from the Avs forwards after the shot.

And after all those shots off the post by the Avs, I'm on board for beveled nets. The score would have been 85-3 and that last minute goal would have made no never mind tonight.

Mathieu Garon deserved the #1 star of the game. He played great, made saves when he needed to and didn't whine when the Avs drove the net like Dwayne Roloson would have done.

Defense Picks It Up, Runs Out of Gas

At the outset of the game, the Avalanche were looking solid defensively. They were breaking out of the zone quickly and not giving the Oilers any time to set up.

However as the game wore on, the Avalanche's defensive efforts started falling flat. Midway through the second period, the Oilers were able to sustain pressure in the Avs zone for shifts at a time and were outhustling the Avs defenders down low. 

Once again, that hustle caused the Avs to look confused on their assignments and too often they were overloading one side of the ice as four defenders at a time chased after the puck down low.

I thought Ruslan Salei did a solid job of not chasing the puck and concentrating on his area of the ice. Once an Oiler forward circled past his area, he left it up to his partner, Jordan Leopold, to pick up the coverage. And he never got caught chasing behind the net while leaving the front of the net wide open. People behind the net don't score, it's the uncovered guys in front of the net that do.

Don't discount dump-and-chase

The new high-flying style of offense is great. It's not translating into the "W" column but it will. However, they shouldn't completely abandon the dump-and-chase tactic. I don't want to see it used exclusively, but if you're stood up at the blueline, don't slow down and try to find a lane. Dump it in so your forwards don't have to break stride and have a chance at retrieving the puck.

There was a lot of slowups at the Oilers blueline followed by soft dumps which were easily recovered by the Oilers. They might as well gift wrap the puck and place it at the opponents sticks. On a silver platter. With a cherry on top.

Oilers Opening Night

Not only was tonight the Oilers season opener, but it was also the 30th anniversary of the Oilers franchise so we were treated to some festivites before the game got underway. 

A little Offspring, a little backstory on the franchise history - in case anyone didn't know, Gretzky played for them and they won lots of Cups - followed by player intros, management and owner intros, long-time season ticket holder intros and the ceremonial puck drop which was taken by Ryan Smyth and Ethan Moreau.

Normally, I would have been saying "Drop the puck already!" but I thought the intro was well done, particulary the on-ice projections. Choosing The Offspring was a nice touch as well, even if their new stuff is nowhere near as good as the masterpiece that is Smash.

Stats

Scott Hannan and John-Michael Liles were the ice-time leaders tonight with 22:06 and 20:57 respectively.

The Avalanche won 72% of their faceoffs which is quite remarkable. 

Milan Hejduk fired off 7 shots on the night while Paul Stastny and Liles each had 4. Hejduk's converted penalty shot was a classic, quick low-blocker wrister. I loved it.

Odds and Ends

The Oilers announced Foote's 1000th game early in the 1st period and the fans gave a nice ovation for Adam. Foote's son was in the crowd with a "Congratulation Dad" sign as well. Good stuff.

The fourth line for the Avalanche played very well tonight. They forechecked like demons, got some scoring chances because of that, and played solid in their own end. 

I briefly switched to the Sharks-Kings game and was treated to a pet peeve of mine; anthem singers who change the pace of the song. Please, I beg of you, stop doing that!

David Jones didn't get any PP time but did get some time on the PK. He was the only guy left covering the left side of the ice on the Oilers first goal.

Mcleod did a good job sticking up for Smyth after Staios had plastered him from behind. The fight was boring but the intent was great.

Related Links

Oilers @ Avalanche Event Summary

Oilers @ Avalanche Boxscore

ITCS Recap

RMN Recap

Ryan Smyth Post-game Comments

Avalanche @ Oilers - Game 2, Preview

(Getty Images)

After their season opening loss to the Boston Bruins, the Colorado Avalanche are in Edmonton tonight as the Oilers open their season at home. The Oilers have had a quite a wait to start their season and should be raring to go.

And if Thursday's game was any indication, this one should be as exciting as they come. The Avs are coming hard under Tony Granato's new high-flying philosophy and the Oilers should respond with much of the same.

A great offense starts with a great defense

The high-flying style came with a cost on Thursday as the Avalanche gave up lot of odd-man rushes. Hopefully Granato has settled the team down and sorted out any confusion in their defensive zone. 

For all the hustle out there, the team looked a bit lost down low, often losing assignments and leaving far too much space for the Bruins to operate. If they leave that amount of space for speedy players like Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner, it's going to be another tough night for Peter Budaj.

Budaj looking for vindication

Budaj was tossed under the bus by a few members of the media and I'm sure he's anxious to vindicate himself after a self-professed sub-par performance. 

After posting stellar numbers in the postseason, Budaj has opened up the regular season with a .750 save percentage and a 5.08 GAA. Some will say that the loss hurts most of all but I think those numbers have an equal sting - or is it stink - to them? But I still believe. 

Avs look to build on positives

An article on the main web site yesterday indicated the team is looking to build on the positives from game on. Building on positives is always a good - if not cliched - way to go. Hopefully they don't forget to take care of those pesky negatives as well.

Footer hits 1000

Adam Foote will be playing in his 1000th game which is quite a feat. Too bad a couple of those a couple seasons worth of games had to be spent away from the Avalanche but he's back home now.

Game Time and Coverage

The game starts at 8:00pm ET, 6:00pm MT and, for myself, is live on Sportsnet. For fans not in Western Canada, it will be live on Altitude as they kick off their television coverage. Unfortunately, neither network will be providing the feed in hi-def. So sad.

Related Links

ColoradoAvalanche.com Preview

Avs look to build on positives

Game 1 leftover thoughts

Avalanche Come Back to Stymie Oilers

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

I'm glad I have a healthy heart. If I was a weaker man I may have found myself in the emergency room with shortness of breath and a tingling sensation down my left arm.

After jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Avalanche then gave up 3 straight goals and had many fans nervously wringing their hands. Andrew Brunette continued his under-the-radar work as he took a Forsberg pass and displayed some fancy hands as he beat Roloson on a deke right in the crease. You won't see many players with the hands and patience to pull that off.

Unfortunately the Avalanche went into the third period down 4-3 after Sam Gagner restored the Oilers lead. Things were looking grim but I really had a feeling about this one. With mere seconds left I started to think I was crazy and that this team wasn't going to get it down. And in steps Joe Sakic. The man - who is totally useless by the way - tied the game with just 5 seconds left prompting me to wake up the neighbourhood I'm sure.

After OT decided nothing, the Avalanche took it to Roloson in the shootout and came away with a big 2 points on the night. The Avalanche maintain their hold on the #7 seed in the West and have now reached the 90 point barrier. The Canucks got thumped again tonight and Nashville moved into the #8 seed but the Avalanche still hold a 4-point cushion from #8.

Shootout
I don't like shootouts deciding extra points in a game but they sure are exciting. Especially when the team you're cheering for scores on all 3 of their attempts. Dwayne Roloson was taken to town by Wojtek Wolski, Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk in the shootout. Sakic and Wolski both went backhand-roof and Hejduk went low blocker to steal the extra point.

Ray Ferraro, color commentator for the Oilers, called all three Avalanche goals and I'm guessing MacTavish might ask him for advice next time the Oil find themselves in a shootout.

Another goaltending anti-duel
That's actually not fair to Roloson who played a pretty decent game. Jose Theodore, on the other hand, spent most of the night as he did the last game against Vancouver; kicking out rebounds and hoping the defense would clear them.

I'm not sure where Theodore's head is at lately but he's been less than stellar in the last two games. Essentially the Avalanche got 4 points despite some soft play from Theodore. With the playoffs looming on the horizon, Theodore needs to bring his head back into the game fast. I mean, what was he doing hugging the post on the Gagner goal? That was just weird.

In consolation - you know, aside from the 2 points - Theodore should get a Highlight of the Night nod for his sprawling glove save in the first period.

Forsberg Injured?
Peter Forsberg, who put up another great showing with 3 assists, was not on the bench during the Overtime period leading to speculation that he has again aggravated his foot or groin. He played over 22 minutes tonight so it's not unlikely.

You know what I can say with 100% certainty is aggravated? *points to self* This guy. Let's recap Forsberg's schedule since his return:

Mar 4, 6, 8 - plays around 20 minutes per game
Mar 9, 11, 13, 15 - sits out with sore groin
Mar 17 - plays 20 minutes
Mar 20, 22 - sits out with sore groin/foot
Mar 24, 26 - plays 15 minutes per game
Mar 28 - plays 22 minutes
Mar 30 - sits out with a scurvy (ok, I'm just guessing)

Does the coaching staff not see the damn pattern here?

Adam Foote Returns
Adam Foote was back in the lineup tonight and boy did he look...slow. The Oilers are a high-flying team and players such as Gagner, Cogliano and Glencross viewed him as nothing more than a pylon.

He did start getting meaner as the game wore on, presumably because he was sick of the breeze as Oilers flew past him. As long as he can strike some fear into the opposition, he can make up for a lack of Foote speed. Heh, get it. Foote speed.

Notes
- Forsberg went off for a spear on Staios after Staios got away with cranking Forsberg in the mouth earlier in the play
- Liles had a terrible shift which led to Gagner's go-ahead goal in the 2nd as he bobbled the puck twice
- Sakic was snakebitten by bouncing pucks until his tying goal (which was on edge when he chipped it in)
- Ruslan Salei coughed up the puck late but Theodore bailed him out with a nice save on Nilsson

Game Highlights


Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap

Avalanche Comeback Falls Short

Let the hand wringing begin. With an Oiler win and Nashville picking up two points, the Avalanche's playoff position is now a bit precarious. And with the way this team has been playing, I don't feel terribly confident at the moment.

The Avalanche came out terribly flat footed in this game, prompting me to write a rare in-game post wondering where the real Avalanche team was. They didn't find themselves in the second period either but they finally realized they were playing a hockey game by the time the third period rolled around.

Of course, that's far too late to realize you're playing a hockey game and despite three goals in 2 1/2 minutes, they came up one goal short in the end. The only joy I got out of this game was seeing 5 goals, including a couple weak ones, scored on Dwayne "Whiny" Roloson. Seriously, does that guy ever not bitch about something?

Blame game
So who was to blame for this game? I would point at nobody in particular though I will say that this team appeared woefully underprepared and uninspired for a game of this magnitude. And that preparation tends to fall at the feed of the coaching staff and the veterans of the team. Somebody needed to step in and wake this team up and it appeared nobody felt comfortable stepping in to that position.

Bust or playoffs?
Adrian Dater put up a post during the game asking if people wanted this team to tank or to limp into the playoffs and be a first-round sweep for the Wings. I'd prefer the latter.

Related Links
Do you want this team in the playoffs?
Sakic Reaches 1,000 Assists (too bad it was in a crap game)
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap

Avalanche Replaced by Junior B Pee-Wee Team

So here I sit watching the Avalanche play the Oilers in an afternoon game on CBC and I can't help but wonder where the real Avalanche team is. It's 3-0 Edmonton with just 3 minutes left in the FIRST period and the Avalanche have played terribly awful. I've played on hockey teams that would put up a better fight against the Oilers than this team of "superstars" has today.

And you know what else? I've had better coaching than this team has received. 50 seconds in the Oil score. Ok, Tough start. Then half way through they go up by 2 on what was a complete defensive breakdown by the team. And what does Q do? That's right...nothing. It was obvious to most people that the Avalanche were scrambling and not thinking so why not call a timeout and wake the team up?

Hell, why not pull Theodore and put Budaj in? Those goals weren't Theodore's fault by any means but obviously the team needed to be scolded and the best way is to punish a teammate. But of course that would imply that Q has any passion left in his coaching repertoire and it's become more and more apparent that he's got nothing left in the tank.

I almost want the Avalanche to miss the playoffs because it should all but guarantee Q's departure. But again, I'm just a chucklehead.

Gameday: Avalanche @ Oilers

It's a big day today as the Avalanche take on the Oilers in game #1 of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada coverage while the Predators, Flames and Wild are all in action as well. The Wild, who are part of game #3 on HNIC, head to Calgary to try and extend their stranglehold on the NW division.

Playoff Odds
If the Avalanche win tonight, coupled with a Blackhawk win over the Predators and a Wild win over Calgary, their playoff odds will jump to 91.5%. Them's some good odds! Of course, that's just for making the playoffs, not for winning the division. To win the division, it would actually be better for the Flames to win this one. But seriously, how can anyone cheer for the Flames?

Starting Goaltender
Much ado has been made over who should get the start in goal tonight. Theodore has been "the man" for a while now but Budaj has been lights out against the Oilers all season. Neither the RMN nor the DP had a mention of who it will be and in the meantime, I'd advise everyone to relax and wait for the game to start.

Game time
The puck drops at 3:08 ET and I'm curious who we'll get as announcers on CBC. Craig Simpson will likely be part of the crew as he tends to cover the Oilers beat but as for play-by-play, I haven't a clue.

Related Links
RMN Avalanche Report

Tighter than a...

Can the Northwest be any closer? I know it's been talked about every year for the past 3 years but it's been no truer than tonight. Three teams, the Avalanche, Wild and Flames, are tied for the division lead with 84 points while the Canucks are just 2 points behind. And the "lowly" Oilers? They just beat the Sharks and are 7 points behind the division leaders. There is no other division where the bottom team isn't trailing the division leader by double digits.

So what does this mean for the playoffs? Well, right now I'd put the odds on four Northwest teams making it to the show. Nashville is close but if you look at Mirtle's playoff push numbers, they've got some streaking to do if they want to get in. Sure, it may not be terribly scientific, but it gets more accurate as the games wear on. In fact, by the time all games are done, it will perfectly predict the playoff seedings!

Yes, I was being facetious there. ;)

Avalanche Atop the Northwest Division

With a 5-1 victory over the Oilers, the Avalanche moved atop the Northwest division tonight. Of course the Thrashers defeating the Flames after being down 3-0 helped. Oh, and New Jersey beat Minnesota in a shootout. And just for kicks, it looks like Phoenix is going to crunch the Canucks.

Seriously, the Avalanche have recently pleased the hockey gods as last night and tonight could not have gone any better for this team.

Is anyone missing a goat?

Avalanche Blow Lead Against Oilers

This team continues to amaze me. And not in a good way. Coming out of the first period with a 2-0 lead after dominating the play would seem to indicate that the strategy from that period was sound.

The Avalanche coaching staff felt otherwise. Instead of continuing to press the action, the team tried to sit back and defend the lead. That's right, it wasn't even the third period and the team tried to go defensive. That strategy blows harder than...well you fill in the analogy.

Final score, 3-0 after a 3-shot 2nd period spent trying to play defence and failing miserably.

And this is about all I feel like saying tonight. If I decide that this game wasn't the complete crapshoot I currently feel it was, I'll add some more content. Or if I feel like bitching some more.

Related Links
In the Cheap Seats Recap
Sakic's return not enough
Colorado squanders fast start
Sakic happy to be back, sad about loss
We don't know anything about hockey

Gameday: Avalanche @ Oilers

(AP Photo/Roy Dabnor)

It's one of them there "critical Northwest division matchups" tonight as the Avalanche steamroll into Edmonton. Ok, steamroll might not be the right word. How about...limp?

In the month of February the team is 4-5-2 and have dropped down to 9th in the Western conference, 4 points back of Nashville for the 8th and final playoff spot. If the team wants to avoid another 15-2-2 run only to miss the playoffs again, they better start playing well above .500.

Stastny's Return!
Paul Stastny made a triumphant return against the Coyotes as he scored the teams first goal on a great individual effort. If that wasn't taken as a message to the team about how to play hockey, they obviously aren't listening.

He didn't show up in the shootout until the 4th attempt as Q opted to go with Hensick over Stastny as the 3rd shooter. I can't even begin to fathom the reason for that choice. Of course I have no idea why David Jones took a shot before Liles or even Cumiskey but what do I know, I'm not a possible Jack Adams candidate, right?

Sakic's Return?
The cautiously optimistic news which would bolster the club is that Joe Sakic is highly likely to play tonight in Edmonton. Of course the club doesn't want to rush him so I wouldn't be disappointed if he didn't play, but after watching his heroics in the 2002 Gold medal game this morning, I'm really itching to see him back on the ice.

UPDATE: Joe Sakic is 99.99% probable to play tonight after being activated this afternoon.

Starting Goaltender
Jose Theodore will get the start in goal after helping the team win a marathon shootout against Phoenix on Friday. I kept that one recorded and watched the shootout again yesterday when I was bored. That doesn't mean I agree with the use of a shootout to decide an extra point, but you've got to admit...they can be exciting.

Mathieu Garon will be in net at the other end while Dwayne Roloson continues to ride the pine. The Oilers had a mini-controversy earlier this week when the media reported that Dwayne Roloson wanted out of the city and had moved his family to Ontario. Roloson quickly clarified the comment stating that he has not asked for a trade and his family moved because of the travel schedule the Oilers have remaining. Ah, to play for an NHL team in Canada. You can't break wind without a reporter dreaming up a way to spin it as you asking for a trade or being unhappy with the coach.

Injuries
I believe Jeff Finger is still out of the lineup with a hand injury so Skrastins will find himself in the lineup again. The team is already missing Brett Clark, much the chagrin of the Brett Clark haters, and losing Finger does not help in the least. Shot blocks and physicality are cornerstones of solid defence and the team is absent their top player in both categories. It looks like some players *cough*Hannan*cough* will need to step it up a couple notches.

Game time
The Avalanche have had the Oilers number so far this year and I see no reason that won't continue even with their recent struggles. The puck drops at 8:00pm ET and I get to watch on the Sportsnet feed. Joy of joys.

Related Links
ColoradoAvalanche.com Preview
Smyth's return still emotional
Avs need to score at trade deadline
Ask the players: Who would you be? (I love Finger's answer)

Avalanche Rough Up Oilers 4-2

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Well that was better. After a 4-day layoff, the Avalanche were able to convincingly win a hockey game. Sure, it was against Edmonton, who are now 4-0 against the Avs this year, but you need to win the games you're supposed to win.

First Period
I missed the majority of the first period due to inattention when setting my PVR to record the game. It must have warned me that I had other programs set to record at the same time but I'm so used to just clicking "Ok" that I never noticed the warning. Oops.

It was a good start to the game as just 4:14 in, Hejduk banged home a loose puck with Hlinka gathering an assist on the play.

Then just 25 seconds later, Stastny and Hejduk broke in, Stastny fed Hejduk who spotted Clark coming in. He fed a perfect pass to Clark who one-timed it into the back of the net. Up 2-0 before the period was even 5 minutes old!

Kyle Brodziak had a great chance to halve that lead but rang it off the crossbar.

Second Period
The Oilers had a penalty parade in this period, taking 5 minor penalties with 4 being assessed within a span of 7 minutes. One was offsetting minors but it still counts ;) And how did the PP fare? Well by golly they scored a goal!

On the first PP chance, they were moving the puck around decently. They were using the point more for cycling and seemed to avoid playing the corners. Thankfully. Wolski was out on the point again and the juries still out on him playing there. He hasn't done it enough to produce points or get horribly torched.

On the second chance, Joe Sakic found himself wide open. And I do mean wide. He had a good 2 seconds to set himself for the shot and when he did, that thing flew off his stick with smoke trails behind it and found its way through Roloson's five-hole.

On the third opportunity, Brunette had a great chance but couldn't cash it in. So in the span of the 3 penalties, the PP unit looked half decent. Scoring chances generated, a goal scored, just one shortie chance given up. Not shabby compared to what it looked like for the last 5 games.

The Avalanche then put the game pretty much out of reach as they capitalized on an Oiler turnover. Kyle Cumiskey snagged the puck at the Avs blueline, fed it to Sakic who broke in with Wojtek Wolski. A quick pass and one-timer and it was 4-0 Avalanche. I could not have been happier. Well, someone could have pounded on Torres for a while and that might have made me a bit happier.

The Avalanche got a late PP opportunity to close out the period. Sakic was back on the point again. For some reason. I really don't think he belongs there unless it's to sneak him in to the high slot as often as possible. Too often he's just stuck at the blueline playing tag with the other D.

Third Period
Ok, 4-0 going into the third would seem to make for a boring final 20 minutes. However Mac T was able to fire up his squad and they made a game of it. Switching Garon in for Roloson may have had something to do with it. If I was an Oiler, I'd be pissed at hanging Roloson out to dry like that and would be looking for some redemption.

8:15 in, Raffi Torres grabbed a Cumiskey turnover and was able to jam it under Budaj's pads to break the shutout. This came about a minute after Ferraro mentioned that Budaj hadn't had a shutout yet this year. Well played, Ray.

The Oil kept putting some pressure on the Avalanche though nothing that made you too frightened. At 14:11, Shawn Horcoff tipped a Grebeshkov point shot to make it a 2 goal lead with plenty of time left.

The Oilers pulled Garon with around 2 minutes left to play. They got some sustained pressure going on the Avs and had a chance or two but it wasn't their night. Make it 10-2 for the Avalanche at home!

Odds and Ends
- much less close-in cycling in the corners this game
- Hannan was playing pretty physical tonight
- Roloson played a great game
- but he's still a little b*tch when players get near the crease
- Hemsky was well-contained this game
- Cody McCormick and Zak Stortini were thorns in each other's sides all night
- Hejduk's interview in the 2nd intermission nearly put me to sleep
- Staios and Smyth had a mini-battle going all night
- Richardson was down on the 4th line and basically a non-factor except on the PK
- Skrastins was a scratch and Cumiskey was back in

Stats
Brett Clark had a huge night with 26:39 in ice-time, far and away the leader for the Avs. Sauer was next with 22:52.

The Avalanche outshot the Oilers 43-13. Marek Svatos led the way with 6, Brett Clark and Tyler Arnason had 5 each and Sakic and McCormick (wha?!?!) each had 4.

The Duke had 1 goal and 2 assists on the night. Sakic had 1 goal and 1 assist while Stastny chipped in with 2 helpers.

Hannan ended the night at -1 with just 17:03 in ice-time. He had a couple turnovers but I thought he played a good, physical game.

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
In the Cheap Seats Recap
TSN Recap
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap
Jerseys and Hockey Love Recap (another game Tapelage was at - lots o' photos!)

Avalanche Reclaim First Place with 3-2 Win Over Oilers

Well it's about time! It was a must-win game as the Avalanche could not afford coming off a 4 game roadtrip with 0 points to show for it.

The game was an improvement on offense and defense. They scored as many goals as they had in the 3 previous games, and allowed a mere 2 goals against in a solid road effort.

Sure, it was against the Oilers but they've been playing half-decent lately.

First Period
The Avalanche seemed to come out with a bit more jump than in previous games. They manufactured a good scoring chance around the 2:30 mark with the Wolski-Stastny-Svatos line which was flying pretty good most of the night.

The Avalanche got the first powerplay of the game it it...didn't amount to much. Brett Clark made a great block at one point. Unfortunately you shouldn't be blocking shots while on the powerplay. Arnason actually had a decent chance but fired it wide.

Karlis Skrastins, in his second game back, then jumped on a loose puck and fired a - horror of horrors! - slapshot from just inside the blueline. It found its way under Garon's pad and the Avs had an early lead on the road. That's the way to start a hockey game!

The Oil then got a chance on the powerplay as well as McCormick sat in the box for hooking. Unfortunately for them, Sam Gagner negated the powerplay with his own hooking call. After some 4-on-4 action, the Avs had a brief powerplay which amounted to nothing.

Ales Hemsky then did his magic as he screamed past Scott Hannan then forced Kurt Sauer to maul him and take a penalty. The Avs killed that one off and were led right into another powerplay as Sakic sat off hooking.

The Sakic penalty had a much quicker and less desireable outcome. Shawn Horcoff was down low, real low, and was able to catch Budaj cheating a little bit and buried a shot through is five hole. Budaj's cheating was mostly in assuming that Horcoff was going to pass out front rather than shoot.

Second Period
The Avalanche got another early powerplay, then another, then another. Almost the entire first half of the period was spent with an Oiler in the box.

Luckily, the second PP led to a goal. It wasn't officially a PP goal but it might as well have been. John Liles took a shot from the point - holy crap! - which was going wide. However Milan Hejduk was off to the side and was able to deflect it past Garon for another Avalanche lead.

It didn't take long for the Oilers to respond, which is getting to be a central theme with the Avalanche. Hemsky and Horcoff played a pretty game of give-and-go and Hemsky drilled a one-timer past Budaj.

The change in this game though, the Avalanche fought back to re-take the lead. A turnover in the neutral zone led to a quick rush by Stastny, Wolski and Svatos. Stastny fed it to Svatos who got a skate, then a stick on it, to put it past Garon. There was a brief review but even the Oiler announcers were saying it was easily a goal.

4 penalties later - two per team - and the period was over with the Avalanche taking a 3-2 lead into the third and the Oilers mustering a measly 2 shots on goal.

Oh, and Torres and Finger had a 2 second fight with Finger landing a shot on the backswing, and Torres getting the takedown. Torres is the Oilers Dion Phaneuf for me. I just don't like the guy.

Third Period
The period got off to a rocky start but Peter Budaj made a huge save on Ales Hemsky to retain the one-goal lead. Hemsky was all alone at the side of the net and Budaj looked down and out but Hemsky couldn't bury the biscuit in the basket. Phew, what a terrible line to use. Oh well, they can't all be gems.

The teams trade powerplay opportunities with Horcoff going off for holding and Smith going off for slashing. It was more like "lumberjacking" on Smith's part as he took one heck of a chop to the arm of Horcoff (or was it Stoll?)

Joe Sakic then produced a scary moment as he tripped and fell awkwardly into the boards. He got up and went off the ice but was back for his next shift. Seemed to just lose an edge there but it was definitely not his most graceful moment.

Another Avs PP, yadda yadda. Finally that was the end of the Oilers penalties. They took 9 minor penalties over the course of the game and the Avs had 6. So after a run of games where neither team took many penalties, the Avalanche got involved in a penalty-fest. And it was not terribly fun to watch.

With about 1 minute left, Garon was pulled for the extra attacker. Brunette was almost able to capitalize right away. The Oilers then got the puck deep and took a timeout. After Mac T drew up the plays, the Oilers tried to convert. However it was no dice for them today and the Avs salvaged 2 out of a possible 8 points on their road trip.

Lines
Richardson-Sakic-Brunette
Wolski-Stastny-Svatos
Smyth-Arnason-Hejduk
McCormick-Smith-Guite

Odds and Ends
- Joni Pitkananen was in the lineup for the Oilers
- Avalanche D was much more involved in the powerplay on both pinching and shooting
- Svatos needs to tighten his helmet, he's forever readjusting it during play
- Smyth and Horcoff has some nasty looking noses
- the 3 stars picked by the fans were Hemsky, Horcoff and Garon

Stats
Brett Clark had a monster night with 28:58 in ice-time. He looked better out there tonight than the last few nights though that could be said about most of the team. Hannan was next with 25:17. McCormick only saw 3:13 and Skrastins had a limited role with just over 9 minutes on the ice.

The defense accounted for 12 of the Avalanche's 31 shots tonight. That's what I like to see! Finger led the way with 4 shots. Up front, Hejduk fired 5 times while Arnason had 4 shots as well.

The Avalanche were solid in the circle again going 57% with Wyatt Smith winning 5 of 7 and Sakic winning 9 of 13 to lead the way. Shawn Horcoff took nearly half of the draws for the Oilers, winning 44% of them.

And on a sour note, the Avalanche were 0 for 8 on the PP tonight which leaves them at 0 for 20 on their roadtrip. Ouch.

On a happy note, somebody, somewhere, is glad you exist. Oh...and the Avalanche are 1st in the NW again. If that matters to you.

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
TSN Recap
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap
Jerseys and Hockey Love Recap

Avalanche Squeeze Past Oilers 4-3 in SO

Ok, in the interest of full disclosure, you'll have to cut me a break if I missed something good as it's election night here in Saskatchewan. So I was flipping back and forth between the game and the results coverage. It was official by halfway through the 2nd period though so if I miss something there...I've got no excuse.

First Period
In the interest of keeping this brief, I'll quickly outline the goals since there were 5 of the darn things.

The game started off good as the Avs got on the board first. The fourth line was out providing some good energy and got rewarded for it. Jeff Finger took a shot from the point and Lappy provided a soft deflection to put it between Roloson's pads. Roloson knew he should have had that one. Stick down Roli!

Edmonton was able to answer back just over 5 minutes later. A bit of a scrambly play out front and Kyle Brodziak was able to put the puck past Budaj to tie it at 1.

Then 3 minutes later, Colorado scored a goal and I completely missed this one. And didn't have the energy to rewind. I hope you all forgive me. It was Arnason getting his 3rd of the year with assists from Bruno and Lappy.

Then about 30 seconds later, the ping-pong game continued as Dick Tjarnstom buried a shot high blocker on Budaj. Budaj was out challenging pretty well but may have lost his position a bit. It was a pretty darn good shot though.

And a minute later, Edmonton took the lead as Ales Hemsky did his magic again. He danced around Kurt Sauer - seriously, Sauer never even touched him - and buried a shot on the far side just over Budaj's pad. Hemsky has some sweet moves but Sauer still should have been able to plaster him. Hemsky's known for big goals and being on the receiving end of big hits.

Second Period
Ok, let's jump in halfway through the action as I was listening to concession and victory speeches from the NDP and Sask Party respectively.

The Oilers got a PP chance at the 12:41 mark. The reason for the penalty...Cumiskey is the David to Penner's Goliath. These two were battling on the boards and the only chance Cumiskey had at winning was to hold on to Penner's stick. Or kick him in the shins. That's frowned upon though. The Oil generated a few chances but couldn't cash in. For a terrible PP, they looked not bad tonight.

At this point, the Oilers were really starting to take over the play in this period. The Avs initially had a 9-1 shot advantage but ended the period with a 12-9 advantage. The NHL.com boxscore was wrong on the shots, at least according to TSN's numbers.

Wolski had the Avs best chance of the period as he took a shortside feed but Roloson was not fooled. That move - circle the net but backhand a pass to the shortside rather than go around the net - has really become prominent this year. In fact, it was Marty Turco's subject on CBC's little vignette of "That's Hockey" on HNIC last weekend. At least I think it's called "That's Hockey". Give me a break, I'm not sleeping much lately.

Peter Budaj then had his own opportunity to bail his team out as he came up huge on two different occasions. The first was a big save on Hemsky who danced around the defenders again. Liles made a heads up play to clear the puck which was looking to trickle into the net. He then made a huge save on one of those backdoor shortside passes from Nilson to Torres. Man I hate Torres. Just wanted to throw that in.

Third Period
The Avs go into the third down by 1 but they wouldn't live with that for long. Just 2:20 in and Ian Laperriere picks up his 2nd goal of the night. Andrew Brunette put in some hard work along the boards and that'll always pay off. He was able to dump it back to Arnason who then fired it at the net. Lappy was going hard to the net - that'll always pay off too - and it went off his stick and in.

Healy, as he always does, began complaining about goaltender interference since Lappy's stick got up in Roloson's grill. Only problem...the puck was in before Lappy touched Roloson. And he apologized after so it's all good.

The tempo really picked up after this goal and frankly there was so much action that my eyes were glued to the television and I wasn't taking notes. Budaj came up with some solid saves during this action to keep the tie going. His most notable was a slick glove save on Torres after Hemsky danced in around the D again. I'm noticing a theme here with Hemsky. He tends to make the Avalanche defenders his...you know what...when he plays them.

The Oil then got an early PP on a Paul Stastny high-stick. This was one that the Avalanche got very lucky on as it should have been a long 5-on-3. About 30 seconds into the PP, Wyatt Smith took down Grebeshkov in a blatant trip, right in front of the ref...and no call. Mac T was livid and I don't blame him.

Sauer even made up for his play tonight as he sprawled to stop a late 2-on-1 with Hemsky and Stoll. That could have been the game right there. Sauer did not have a good night tonight as Hemsky exposed his slowness on many occasions.

Overtime
Overtime was a prototypical OT. A few chances on each end but no team really having a ton of sustained pressure. I fear too many teams are playing for the shootout these days but I have absolutely no stats or even any solid logic to back it up. I just fear it. And I can fear whatever I want. Including large spiders and small birds.

Shootout
After a ridiculous delay thanks to the Oilers "not liking the ice", the shootout began.

Wolski starts it and basically turns Roloson inside out with a sweet, sweet move.

Gagner is denied.

Smyth is stoned by Roloson who seemed to know exactly what Smyth would do. I wonder why?

Hemsky tries low-blocker again and misses the net. Try something else Ales!

Sakic for the win and...denied by the post! He had Roli beat glove high but that darn post got in the way.

Torres to tie it...5-hole on a quick release. Man I hate Torres.

Svatos to put the pressure on the Oil and...he basically lobs it over Roloson's glove. Weird looking goal but whatever gets it in the back of the net.

Reasoner to keep the SO going and...MISS! The Avs win the SO and push their home record to 8-1.

Odds and Ends
- Sakic kept trying 5-hole on Roloson but had no luck
- Finger plastered Penner along the boards in the 2nd period
- both teams did a good job staying out of the box with just 8 penalties between both teams
- Svatos has been making good defensive reads lately
- Hemsky loves going low-blocker on goaltenders
- 5 goals in 9:52 of the 1st, then no more until 2:20 of the 3rd...crazy night!
- the Avs are now 6-2 against divisional opponents
- they are also 1st in the Northwest!

Stats
Ian Laperriere was the beast of the night with 2 goals and 1 assist. The third line was in on all the Avs goals and was a combined +7 with 7 points.

Brett Clark had monster minutes of 28:43 tonight. I didn't notice him that much so with that amount of ice-time, that can only be a good thing. Sauer was next with 23:49. I noticed him a lot. And that's not a good thing.

Scott Parker was at the low end with just 56 seconds on the ice. Seriously. Q sits Hlinka in order to give Parker 56 seconds of ice time. I may not be an NHL coach but that just seems ridiculous.

Sakic, Hannan and Smyth were -2 on the night. Aren't those our most defensively responsible players. What gives?

Sakic blasted off 8 shots. Each one going for the 5-hole I think.

The Avs were credited with 6 hits. And this was on home turf! But they only gave Finger 1 hit, likely his one on Penner, even though I'm positive he hit more guys than that.

Related Links
NHL.com Gamesheet
TSN Recap
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap
In the Cheap Seats Game Notes
Hannan Unfazed by +/-
Richardson Cleared to Play

Avalanche Slide by Oilers; Win 4-2

(AP Photo/John Ulan)

Well, the ovation Ryan Smyth received was classy and sustained but not terribly boisterous. After the video tribute, the fans cheered for about 30 seconds and from that point on, Smyth was the enemy. During the tribute and ovation, Smyth and his wife were both leaking some strange, salty discharge from their eye area.

The RPM line of Smyth, Stastny and Svatos was the starting lineup. I guess Q wanted Smyth to get his jitters out early. Smyth started getting the Pronger treatment, though much more subdued. I've got no problems at all with the way the Oilers fans and management treated Smyth tonight. And I'm sure that means the world to all of them.

First Period
The Avalanche got a powerplay opportunity early but couldn't really do much. They gave up the usual 2-on-1 opportunity which thankfully didn't lead to a goal. Svatos had a breakaway chance but was denied going five-hole by Roloson.

At 9:44, the Avalanche got on the board first. Arnason and Lappy broke in on a 2-on-1, Arnason held on then wired a snap shot from the middle of the slot. It went to the far corner above Roloson's glove and the Avalanche have an early lead on the road. Has the world stopped turning? Or hell frozen over? Ok, just checking.

The top line of the Avalanche put on a great shift a couple minutes later but were punished for it. The Avalanche D got caught a little deep, Sam Gagner sprang Cogliano who deftly dodged a Clark hipcheck and fed Dustin Penner who made no mistake on his second goal of the season. No chance for Budaj on that one unless he develops Go-Go-Gadget legs.

The Avalanche didn't put up with that for long though. Q sent out Guite, Arnason and Hlinka and they cashed in 24 seconds after the Oiler goal. Liles took a shot from the point - yes! - and Hlinka buried the rebound in front. That's how you make the best of your opportunities.

Mathieu Roy then laid a big hit on Lappy and held on to him a second too long. Lappy had enough and dropped the gloves. Roy got Lappy's head off right away and got couple shots. Lappy then did the same and took Roy down. Lappy wins that one due to the takedown but it was even otherwise.

Another Avalanche powerplay, another shorthanded chance given up. This is getting real old, real fast. Again, the opposition had the best scoring chance on an Avalanche powerplay.

The Avalanche then got one late to go up by two. Finger took a shot from the point - yes! - and Wolski poked the rebound home after a brief scramble where it looked like Roloson had covered up the puck.

Second Period
The Avalanche got another powerplay chance. And gave up another 2-on-1 opportunity. This time it wasn't Liles that caused it and he made a decent defensive play to break it up. The powerplay unit looks anemic tonight.

Wolski then took the Avalanche's first penalty on a weird call. Sure, his stick was between the guys legs but he didn't trip him. The refs called him for a hold. I guess because he had trapped the guys stick from behind...or something. The PK unit did a good job of killing it off.

The period, a boring one might I add, ended just as it began with a 3-1 lead for the Avalanche.

Third Period
Well this one was dominated by the Oilers. They spent more time in the Avalanche zone than a 12-year old video game freak spent playing Halo 3 when it came out. Cogliano, Gagner and Penner were making fools of the Avalanche defenders for a goodly portion of this period. Thankfully, the Avalanche defenders were not complete fools as they kept the puck from getting to dangerous areas for the most part.

At 10:45 of the third, the Oilers were finally able to get another one past Budaj. Penner knocked Leopold off the puck in the corner, Gagner picked up, moved around Leopold to the front and lost the puck. The lost puck skidded through the slot past 3 Avalanche defenders and onto Tom Gilbert's stick. One second later it was in the back of the net and Oil were within one.

The first line then tried to settle things down and put in some good shifts. The second line also came on and Smyth got a couple chances. Ales Hemsky then took a late penalty with only 2:07 left to go while in the Avalanche zone. It was a bit of a weak call, but a call that's been made all season long.

Scott Hannan decided the game lacked drama so with just 52 seconds left, he took a holding penalty to give us some 4-on-4 hockey. Once the Oilers regained the Avalanche zone, Roloson headed to the bench and it was a powerplay for the Oilers. Thankfully, the Avalanche got the puck out of the zone and Guite fed the puck to Clark for the empty netter to seal the deal.

Stats
Hannan and Sauer led the Avs in ice-time with 23:52 and 22:05 respectively. Smyth was next with 21:25. Cumiskey got in 7 minutes and Leopold was held to just over 11 minutes. Clark had a more reasonable 19:27 in ice-time and played a good game.

Leopold managed to be on the ice for both Oiler goals.

Liles led the team with 3 blocked shots. He also gave up most of the 2-on-1 opportunities on the powerplay but who's counting.

Raffi Torres dished out 6 hits, more than the Avalanche's 4 combined hits. I caught more than 4 hits by Avalanche players though. Stupid subjective stats. What an oxymoron, eh?

Arnason won 67% of his faceoffs. Color me surprised. Smith was only 2 for 7 while Hlinka and Guite were both 0 for 3.

Odds and Ends
- Cumiskey was in tonight as the Avs dressed 7 defencemen
- Finger CRUSHED Gagner behind the Avalanche net in the first
- Ben Guite's dad played for the Nordiques apparently (so the TSN announcers said)
- Hannan-Sauer is much better and more intimidating than Hannan-Clark
- Budaj made some big saves even if they didn't look too flashy
- the Avs are the worst faceoff team in league
- Smyth had a few chances but came away with no points on the night

The Good
- first road win
- not needing to come back
- first line was a force tonight

The Bad
- powerplay unit
- getting dominated in third

The Ugly
- Smyth's wife (just kidding, she's hot!)

Related Links
NHL.com Gamesheet
TSN Recap
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap
Jerseys and Hockey Love Recap
In The Cheap Seats Game Notes